- Eyedea
Eyedea (born Mike Averill [cite web |first =Peter S. |last = Scholtes |url = http://citypages.com/databank/22/1084/article9816.asp
title = What's the Big Eyedea? |publisher= City Pages |date =2001-09-12 |accessdate = 2008-07-20] Dead link|date=September 2008 in 1981) is a well-known freestyle battle champion and underground rapper. His notable wins include the televisedBlaze Battle sponsored byHBO (2000) and a victory atScribble Jam (1999). He has appeared as a solo artist, and as theemcee half of the duoEyedea & Abilities (along with longtime friend and collaboratorDJ Abilities ). His non-battle rhymes are generallyphilosophical ly or thematically based, and often tell a definitenarrative .Youth
For much of his youth, Eyedea lived with his mother in downtown Saint Paul,
Minnesota , where He attended Highland Park Senior High School.Eyedea became known as a 'battle emcee', touring the circuit between 1997 and 2001. During this time he won top prizes at Scribble Jam ‘99, the Rock Steady Anniversary 2000, and Blaze Battle Chicago 2000. He contributed a track to the
anticon. compilation, Music for the Advancement of Hip Hop. Additionally, he toured extensively as second emcee and supportDJ for Atmosphere.First album
In 2001, he released "First Born" with his partner
DJ Abilities (collectively, they were initially called the Sixth Sense, but they are now known asEyedea & Abilities ). In 2002, under his pen name "Oliver Hart", he released the self-produced "The Many Faces of Oliver Hart ". In 2004, he and Abilities reunited to release the self-titled album "E&A " (releasedMarch 23 2004 ).All of Eyedea's releases have been on the Rhymesayers record label, with the exception of Carbon Carousel's "The Some of All Things or: The Healing Power of Scab Picking", which was released on his own independent label, Crushkill Recordings. In addition to touring independently and with Rhymesayers labelmates and members of Face Candy, Eyedea and Abilities participated in the
Def Jux -sponsored "Who Killed the Robots?" tour, titled by Eyedea.He is signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment, and has been known to collaborate with Slug of the legendary underground hip hop group Atmosphere, as well as
Sage Francis ,Aesop Rock , and Blueprint.After Eyedea released "This Is Where We Were" with his live freestyle/jazz group Face Candy, he created Carbon Carousel, an alternative rock band. They have released one EP titled "The Some of All Things or: The Healing Power of Scab Picking". This brought on speculation that Eyedea & Abilities was no longer together. However, in August 2007, the duo announced on their Myspace that they would be at the Twin Cities Celebration of Hip Hop performing old songs, as well as new material.
In December 2007, Eyedea & Abilities embarked upon their Appetite for Distraction Tour with Crushkill labelmate Kristoff Krane and
Minnesota n duo Sector7G.Discography
Albums
* "First Born" (2001) (By
Eyedea & Abilities )
* "The Many Faces of Oliver Hart " (2002)
* "E&A " (2004) (By Eyedea & Abilities)
* "This Is Where We Were" (2006) (By Face Candy)
* "The Some of All Things or: The Healing Power of Scab Picking" (2007) (By Carbon Carousel)
* TBA (2008) (By Eyedea & Abilities)ingles
* "Pushing Buttons 12" (2000) (By
Eyedea & Abilities )
* "Blindly Firing 12" (2001) (ByEyedea & Abilities )
* "Now" (2003) (ByEyedea & Abilities )
* "Carbon Carousel Single Series #1" (2007) (By Carbon Carousel)
* "Nervous. " (2007) (By Carbon Carousel)Other
* "E&A Road Mix" (2003)
References
External links
* [http://www.30music.com/int.php?int=83 30Music interview with Eyedea, talking about Carbon Carousel]
* [http://www.myspace.com/carboncarousel Carbon Carousel Myspace Page]
* [http://www.discogs.com/artist/Eyedea Eyedea] atDiscogs
* [http://www.rhymesayers.com Rhymesayers Entertainment]
* [http://www.citypages.com/detail.asp?articleID=9816 City Pages interview with Eyedea]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2g792twNKg Eyedea Freestyle]
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